Step by step guide to daily housekeeping anyone?

[Adollop]

Does anyone have a step by step guide to daily housekeeping?

I've not been well, severe depression, but I want to start looking after my house more, doing things regularly, in small steps. So I wondered if anyone had seen a list somewhere of daily, weekly, monthly tasks etc. I feel like I need a list to tick off to keep myself motivated.

Fly lady and UfYH (unfuck your habitat) are website with different personalities that would be worth browsing.

I have a book 30 day to a clean and organised house but it is an intense month and I don’t love it. One bit I like is a cycle for the main rooms which has resulted in me quickly sorting bedrooms and bathrooms of a morning and living room and kitchen at night. Keeps on top of these areas which helps.

I've looked at them, but it just seems .... such a lot of info. I just want a list really.

You could try looking on Pinterest, there are quite a few cleaning routines on there. There are all different levels from quick cleaning to more in depth ones that will include what to clean monthly, weekly and daily. Have a look and choose the one that most suits you.

The organised mum method is good.
Monday to Friday you have level one jobs such as make beds, bathroom etc
Each day is a level 2, so Monday front room, Tuesday bedroom etc.
level 1 is 15 minutes so whatever doesn’t get done can wait until tomorrow.
Level 2 is 30 minutes. Again don’t stress if it’s not done. You’ll be back there next week.
I’m really disorganised and hate housework but it’s really helped us.

This is a basic list that works to keep me “ticking over” when I haven’t the time or mental wellness to do anything more.

Not sure what works for you but for me setting the house straight/setting myself up for the morning at night seems easier. Other people are morning people.

Every night I
-load up the dishwasher and put it on to be emptied in the morning.
-wipe the kitchen counters and sink.
-put any rubbish from living room in bin
-sweep kitchen floor
-load the washing machine and put it on to be hung out in the morning.
-set out my clothes and towel in the bathroom for the next day

If downstairs is tidy and dishes done/counters clear I can cope with the day ahead. I don’t always manage the floor sweep. I can cope with that.

If you can only manage two things everyday I would do dishwasher/dishes and laundry. That will keep the basics at a manageable level and you can catch up on the rest when you have the energy for it.

Thank you! That is very helpful. I need to feel it's manageable ... I've let everything slip for a while, then moved house and want to stay on top of it now.

I prefer to sort things at night and to wake up to a tidy clean house, I'm not a morning person.

I don't agree with @JoxerGoesToStuttgart but I don't put the dishwasher on I overnight, I do it after breakfast. I'd also add:
Every morning, upstairs: make bed, put dirty clothes in laundry basket, put nightwear away, fold all damp towels or hang on the airer in spare bedroom to dry off, open all blinds and curtains upstairs, squirt some bleach down the loo. Downstairs: tidy up kitchen, put dishwasher on, hang out washing (or put in dryer). Open all curtains. Decide what we're having for tea.

I don't agree with @JoxerGoesToStuttgart**

There was nothing to agree or disagree with. I was just posting my list of what I do.

Could you do your own list and start with essentials, adding to it as you get on top of things?

For example, start with every evening, after you've eaten, you load dishwasher or do washing up and wipe down all surfaces. Every morning, you put all clothes and towels away, load washing machine if you have a load or put in laundry bin if you don't. Wipe down bathroom surfaces.

Then you add vacuuming, ironing, and other chores as the first ones become a habit.

If you are up to it, have a weekly task - Monday wipe down fridge shelves and check what needs to be used up/binned. Tuesday, meal plan and shopping list. Wednesday, change one lot of bed linen and wash it. That sort of thing.

It has to be your priorities and what you can manage,

Thank you, that makes sense. I think having a list from someone else will help me put together my own list now.

It is a good plan, but the more you Google, the more overwhelming it gets. Take care not to set yourself too big a task. If you end the week a little better than you start it, that's all it takes for the tide to turn.

As a bare minimum I like the Flylady home blessing hour. It's 6 basic jobs, roughly 10 mins each if done flat out, and you do it once a week to keep in top of the absolute basics. I would start with that, on a Monday or spread out 10 mins a day over the week, and build up from there. (My 6 are slightly different to Flylady's.)

The Organised Mum Method is great. All the lists are here

Thanks. I'm struggling with that website on my phone, but I'll check on my pc.

There's a new app for TOMM today.

I recently overhauled the way we organise all the housework and I started by making a list of every job that needed doing over the course of a week and a smaller list of the less frequent jobs.
Then I split the jobs up per day. Some things were daily essential and non avoidable jobs, some were weekly jobs.
Once I’d done that, I split them up so that DP and DS1 who is 11 knew what to do without me having to ask. It’s on the fridge.
So my list looks like this:
Daily:
Empty bins.
Empty and reload dishwasher then turn on.
Dirty clothes in laundry baskets.
Wipe kitchen surfaces and sink/draining board.
Wipe around and bleach down loos.
Sweep kitchen floor.
Hoover downstairs.
Load of laundry if needed.
Fold previous day’s laundry.

Weekly:
Change beds.
Proper clean of bathrooms.
Polish living room and bedrooms.
Clean mirrors and glass doors.

Hoover whole house and skirting boards as you go.
Mop hard floors.

Once every so often (maybe every 3-6 months)
Clean windows inside.
Clean door handles, light switches and skirting boards.
Hoover under and behind furniture.
Sort through drawers/wardrobes and donate stuff.

I’ve started a 5 minute tidy up rule at random. We put a timer on and we do what we can within the 5 minutes, it’s amazing what you can achieve in such a short space of time.

I also try to never leave room empty handed which massively reduces the amount of stuff left around!

Good luck xx

Thanks, that's very helpful!

I'll look for the app too.

Are you in a position where you can simply start, or do you need a declutter first? Something like Kondo for a few months, THEN a routine is often what is needed.

As someone who has struggled massively with depression and a messy house I’d say you don’t need a list. Just do every job as it comes up and pick a day to go over the house. So wash the pots and wipe down after meals. Put stuff away after it’s used. Put the washer on when it needs doing.
Then on Saturday hoover up, wipe down, clean windows if they need doing, put bedding on to wash etc

I can simply start. I moved not long ago, so house isn't cluttered. (Apart from my spare room, where everything not yet unpacked was dumped.)

I divide time five ways: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually.

Daily tasks: do a load of washing start to finish, stack/empty dishwasher, clean bathroom (I find a quick wipe down once a day is a lot easier in the long run), clear up any really messy area of the house, e.g. giving any areas that are a bit mucky a quick hoover.

Weekly tasks: I divide the house into five zones, and do one a day, with two days off at the weekend. DH pitches in on pain of death if he doesn't.

Monthly tasks: These fit into the weekly schedule. So, for example, I try to clean the insides of my kitchen cupboards once a month (I have drawers so they get a few crumbs in them). So I divide the kitchen into four, and do a quarter on the kitchen zone day each week.

Then I use the two days 'off' over the weekend to do the more occasional jobs:

Quarterly: things that need doing occasionally, like cleaning the inside of windows, cleaning the oven, get fitted in once a quarter.

Annually: I take one room a month and go through everything thoroughly, inside and out. This is enough to stop crap you aren't using building up, and once you have a storage system that works well for you, it doesn't take all that long to do.

The Organised Mum Method has a brand new app. It is fabulous. Just search Team Tomm in either App Store or google play store. It's £4.99 well spent x

Please stop thinking of it as a project.
Something to plan

The key is to not delay and do things as soon as they need doing.
Cook dinner. Immediately afterwards, clear table, load dishwasher, clean surfaces, sweep floor, clean sink. Every single evening. Without fail.
Vacuum - every single evening. It’s a quick job when you do so regularly.

Bathrooms - clean as and when and then plan for a proper deep clean every fortnight. You’re not feeling up to it? No big deal because you’ve been cleaning it lightly every day

I work best when I set a timer.

I give myself 10-20 mins in one room and then see how much I can get done in that time.

I can reset the timer for another 10-20 mins to finish each room if the first time was not enough.